50 Facts That the Politicians Aren't Discussing About Americans' Finances How long will the pols from both parties get away with lying to us?

By Grant Cardone

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Donald Trump
Donald Trump

The Democrats tell you they want to take care of the middle class, and the Republicans tell you they want to grow the economy. But the reality is, neither side is telling you the truth, only telling you what distracts you from the truth.

Related: Wall Street in Relentless Selloff as Oil Prices Sink

The current financial condition of America and its people are in serious trouble. Marco Rubio promises to reform tax codes and repeal Obamacare. Hillary Clinton plans to raise taxes on capital gains. Bernie Sanders wants to make college free. None of them wants to fix the real problems.

What are those problems? Following are 52 disturbing facts about the U.S. economy that should cause you to make economics a major issue at your house: The middle class economic condition continues to deteriorate, and regardless of where you are financially, these statistics may include you.

That deterioration should strike you as being something that extends beyond bad news and drama. It should be a conversation starter for you, your spouse and kids, your extended family and your employees. Here is the reality of your situation:

  1. 76 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck
  2. 62 percent of Americans have less than 1,000 dollars in their savings account
  3. 65 percent of those 65 and older have less than $25,000 in retirement
  4. 21 percent of all Americans have no savings account at all
  5. 43 percent of American households spend more money than they make each month
  6. Middle-class Americans today make up a minority of the population. In 1971, 61 percent of all Americans lived in middle-class households
  7. In the last 14 years, median income of middle-class households declined by 4 percent
  8. Median wealth for middle class households dropped by an astounding 28 percent between 2001 and 2013
  9. Middle class take-home pay before expenses has plummeted to just 43 percent of gross pay, compared to 1970 when the middle class took home approximately 62 percent of all income
  10. There are still 900,000 fewer middle-class jobs in America than there were when the last recession began
  11. According to the Social Security Administration, 51 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year
  12. 48 percent of all adults under the age of 30 believe that "The American Dream is dead"
  13. Since hitting a peak in 2004, the rate of homeownership in the United States has been steadily declining, and today stands at 63 percent of households
  14. The United States ranks 19th in the world when it comes to median wealth per adult
  15. The level of entrepreneurship in this country is at an all-time low
  16. For each of the past six years, more businesses have closed in the United States than opened. This has never happened before in U.S. history
  17. The 20 wealthiest people in the nation have more money than the poorest 152,000,000 Americans combined
  18. The top 0.1 percent of all American families have as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent combined
  19. If you have no debt and $10 in your pocket, you have a greater net worth than one out of four Americans
  20. The number of Americans living in concentrated areas of high poverty has doubled since 2000
  21. 48 percent of all 25-year-old Americans still live at home with their parents
  22. 51 percent of all Americans make less than $30,000 a year
  23. One out of five people live in poverty
  24. 46 million Americans use food banks each year
  25. The number of homeless children nationally has increased by 60 percent over the past six years
  26. According to Poverty USA, 1.6 million American children slept in a homeless shelter or some other form of emergency housing last year
  27. 65 percent of all children in the United States are living in a home that receives some form of aid from the federal government
  28. Almost one-third of all children live in households with an income below 60 percent of the national median income
  29. The United States ranks 36th out of the 41 "wealthy nations" in child poverty
  30. 41 percent of all children in the United States raised by a single parent are living in poverty
  31. The "officially unemployed" plus those "not in the labor force" equal 102.3 million
  32. 70 percent of all Americans believe that "debt is a necessity in their lives"
  33. 53 percent of all Americans don't even have a minimum three-day supply of nonperishable food and water stored
  34. According to John Williams of shadowstats.com, the actual unemployment rate in this nation is 22.9 percent
  35. The percentage of men working in America has gone from more than 80 percent in 1980 to 65 percent
  36. The labor-force participation rate for men has plunged to the lowest level ever recorded
  37. The inventory-to-sales ratio has risen to its highest level since the last recession. That means that a lot of unsold inventory is just sitting around out there
  38. The manufacturing index has fallen for five months in a row.
  39. Orders for "core" durable goods have fallen for ten months in a row
  40. Since March 2015, the amount of goods being shipped by truck, rail and air inside the United States has been falling every single month on a year-over-year basis
  41. Walmart is projecting that its earnings may fall by as much as 12 percent over the next fiscal year
  42. Corporate debt in the United States has approximately doubled
  43. Despite the Federal Reserve's first increase in interest rates in 10 years, the U.S. Treasury prime rate has continued to drop, hitting new lows of 1.57 percent just this week
  44. Annual health-insurance premiums have increased by a total $4,865 per household since 2008
  45. The average U.S. household that has at least one credit card has approximately $15,950 in credit card debt
  46. The number of auto loans that exceed 72 months has hit an an all-time high
  47. Approximately 41 percent of all working-age Americans either currently have medical bill problems or are paying off medical debt
  48. The total amount of student loan debt in the United States has risen to $1.2 trillion, more than all credit card debt
  49. Approximately 40 million Americans are paying off student loan debt
  50. In just the last eight years, the nation added $8.16 trillion to the U.S. national debt, with admitted debt at some $19 trillion

Related: Don't Let Debt Crush Your Financial Dreams

What we have seen so far is just the small tip of a very big issue that will affect us all. I have been saying for five years now: Get ready! It is time you make economics the number-one issue in your life. So, invest money only in growing yourself and your business opportunities. If something has no chance of improving one of those two things -- don't spend money on it.

Our economic infrastructure is gutted; our middle class is being destroyed; we have $20 trillion in admitted debt; Wall Street has been transformed into the biggest casino in the history of the planet; and our irresponsible, incompetent, lying and reckless politicians have piled up the biggest mountains of obligations to big banks and Big Pharma to addict the world on debt and drugs.

What has to change in this country is the idea that the government will fix our problems. Your mom and dad were sold on the idea that the government would keep them safe, secure their finances and ensure their retirement. We all know how that turned out -- and if you don't, reread No. 3. Anyone who believes that everything is "perfectly fine" and that we are going to come out of this "stronger than ever" is just being delusional. You must get your priorities straight.

You have to take control of your life. You cannot win if you do not take responsibility and control, yourself, your family, your finances, your health, your wealth and your community. You need to think differently about how you accomplish your goals -- and recognize that, when you control your situation, you accomplish your goals more.

Related: 7 Ways to Be Debt-Free for the Rest of Your Life

Grant Cardone

International Sales Expert & $1.78B Real Estate Fund Manager

Grant Cardone is an internationally-renowned speaker on sales, leadership, real-estate investing, entrepreneurship and finance whose five privately held companies have annual revenues exceeding $300 million.

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